This invention relates to a method and an apparatus for removing fiber tufts from fiber bales of different origins and for mixing the detached fiber tufts, such as cotton, chemical fiber or the like. For the detaching operation the fiber bales are assembled into at least one transportable group (row).
According to a known method a plurality of bale groups are provided, each composed of a plurality of fiber bales. The fiber material is removed (detached) from the bales of the individual groups and is subsequently blended in a downstream-arranged mixing apparatus. The fiber bales are arranged in groups; within each group the fiber material is of the same origin. Stated differently, all the fiber bales within any individual group contain fiber of identical properties. The fibers of different groups are, as individual components, conveyed pneumatically to the mixing apparatus through transporting ducts and are intermingled for the first time in such mixer. The several bale series or bale groups each form a mixing component. The composition of the blend in the mixer is varied by changing the proportion of the fiber components from the individual groups as the blend is prepared.
It is a disadvantage of the above-outlined process that for each group a separate fiber bale opening device has to be provided, that is, the number of the fiber bale openers corresponds to the number of the different fiber origins. It is a further disadvantage of the conventional method that the various detaching processes have to be controlled differently, as a result of which the opening devices of the bale opener are periodically idle which is inefficient and uneconomical and may lead to operational disturbances in case of breakdown.